Wyatt sighed heavily and
stared at the ceiling; berating himself for being a jackass and pushing
Ambrose into something he may not have really wanted as the hours
passed. Leaning forward slightly, he kissed him gently on the forehead
as penance and slowly carded his fingers through his slowly drying hair
as he slept curled against his side.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured as he slid his fingers lightly down Ambrose’s cheek in a gentle caress.

Ambrose whimpered softly in his sleep, and shifted, curling closer around Wyatt, tucking a foot around Wyatt’s own.

Wyatt smiled faintly and shifted, gathering Ambrose in his arms before drifting off to sleep.

***

Ambrose
wrinkled his brow as the sounds of movement reached his ears; the
opening and closing of a door, footsteps scraping on the stone floor,
the rustle of fabric as they moved; the clang of metal as they took
something from the wall and the whistle of displaced air as they
practiced with it.

Ambrose
whimpered softly in agitation, and worried his lip. Silence surrounded
him and he sighed, nuzzling against the pillow that slowly rose and
fell beneath him.

The
silence was broken once more with the soft rustle of fabric and the
quiet thud of a metallic object being set down on a wooden one. A
moment of stillness fell once more before quiet footsteps moved closer.

“Oh,”
a hushed but definitely male voice exclaimed in surprise. “Sorry,” came
the whispered apology and the footsteps made a hasty retreat, taking
only a moment to put back whatever metal object they’d been practicing
with before quietly exiting the room.

As the door shut behind them, Wyatt groaned in his sleep, tightening his hold on Ambrose who sighed softly in response.

***

The
thick vale of blackness surrounding him slowly began to clear, lighten
as he rose from sleep, coming back to consciousness and he groaned
softly, stretching muscles that had been still and unused for far too
long, yawning before blinking chocolate brown eyes and looking around a
moment before a slow, contented smile curled his lips, the sound of
soft breathing and the thump of a resting heartbeat reaching his ears.

Shifting
slowly, Ambrose raised his head and looked up; his smile broadening as
he spied Wyatt’s sleeping form. He blinked as he moved and looked down
to see Wyatt’s arms fall away from him with ease and wrinkled his brow
before returning his gaze to Wyatt’s serene face.

Moving
carefully on his hands and knees, Ambrose hovered over Wyatt and bent
down, careful not to touch him as he moved the open collar of his shirt
away from his neck. Swallowing thickly, he stayed still, watching and
listening to Wyatt sleep for a few moments. Then, a slow smile stole
over his features before he leaned down and trailed his tongue slowly
up the tanned column of Wyatt’s throat, drawing back when he heard
Wyatt’s breath hitch in his throat before emitting a low groan.

He
smiled, rocking slightly to and fro on his hands and knees as Wyatt
blinked and reached up to rub the sleep from his eyes with a groan.

“You look awfully happy,” Wyatt observed.

Ambrose
leaned down, his hands on either side of Wyatt’s head and his knees
slid back on the mat as he lowered himself over Wyatt with a grin.

“Mmm
hmm,” he murmured and crouched down closer, giving Wyatt a soft kiss.
“Thanks to you,” he whispered as he pulled back once more.

“No,”
Ambrose said, shaking Wyatt’s head gently, his fingertips squishing his
cheeks. “I may have been a little surprised and confused at first, but
I did know what I was doing, and I wanted it.”

“But, Ambrose…” Wyatt tried again when Ambrose released him and pulled away, turning.

“No,
Wyatt,” Ambrose said looking back over his shoulder at him before
turning to face him once more. “I know what was going on, just because
I was a little confused by your terms doesn’t mean I knew nothing about it; I’m a bookworm, remember? I do have books, you know? And despite what you might think, I was in full capacity of all my faculties.”

“Ambrose…”
Wyatt said again and then blinked in surprise when the man pounced on
him, grasping his jaw once more and pinning him to the mat.

“Wyatt Cain,” Ambrose said firmly, staring him down. “If you try to apologize one more time for something you didn’t do, I swear I’ll kick your ass. I’ve already done it once, and I can do it again!”

Wyatt swallowed dryly and nodded.

“Good,” Ambrose replied. “I’m glad we can agree on something. Now…”

Wyatt blinked, slightly alarmed as Ambrose bent down over him not letting go and he squirmed slightly.

Loosening his grip on Wyatt’s jaw only slightly, Ambrose moved over him and claimed his mouth humming softly.

Wyatt’s
breath hitched and he stilled a moment before slowly bringing his arms
up, wrapping them around Ambrose’s slighter frame as he returned the
kiss.

Ambrose
continued the kiss for a moment before drawing back with a smile and
soft laugh as he panted. “There,” he murmured. “Did you push me into
that?”

Wyatt
swallowed, reaching up and brushing his slightly bruised lips with the
back of his hand. “N-no…” he gasped softly in reply, staring at Ambrose
in wonder and sitting up slowly as Ambrose sat back on his knees with a
grin.

Ambrose chuckled softly at Wyatt’s expression. “Like I said Wyatt, the terms you used may have confused me, but I do
have books, even if they happen to be more clinically oriented in their
descriptions. I may not be ready to take my clothes off around you, but
I’m perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and you didn’t push
me.”

Wyatt blinked and Ambrose chuckled once more before looking around the room.

“Think we’re done here?” Ambrose asked, looking back at Wyatt.

“Y-yeah, I think so,” Wyatt replied.

“Good,”
Ambrose said hopping to his feet and pushing off the mat with his hands
as Wyatt slowly rose, still looking at him as though he’d grown a
second head. “I think it’s almost time for dinner, don’t you?”

Wyatt nodded and blinked as Ambrose clasped his hand and led him from the room.

***

“So,
where do you want to have dinner?” Wyatt asked keeping his tone low as
they walked down the hall. He was rather relieved that Ambrose had let
go of his hand shortly after leaving the training room. It wasn’t that
he didn’t care for him, was embarrassed by him or anything like that,
it was just that he’d seen the kid teasing her sister as well as her
parents for being all ‘lovey dovey’ either with each other or when she
found out that her sister had a crush on some one and that was something he was sure both he and Ambrose could do without right now, so he wasn’t in a rush to announce their involvement.

Ambrose
flushed slightly and slowed his steps nervously. “Well, I um…” he began
and licked his lips, his blush increasing a little. “I could use a
shower first, really…but um…”

“I didn’t,” Ambrose replied quietly and smiled, blushing and averting his gaze as he lowered his fingers. “Well, I – I did…” he corrected before meeting Wyatt’s gaze once more. “But it wasn’t because of what you said.”

Wyatt blinked, swallowing. “You were?” he asked in disbelief.

Ambrose flushed and nodded slightly, averting his eyes and shuffling his feet nervously.

Wyatt looked at him curiously before he narrowed his gaze speculatively. “What were you thinking?”

Ambrose
nearly turned crimson and didn’t meet his gaze as he continued to shift
uneasily. He cleared his throat after a moment, still feeling Wyatt’s
gaze upon him. “C-can I tell you at dinner?” he asked, finally raising
his eyes.

Wyatt arched a brow. “I take it that means you don’t want to have dinner with the others in the dinning room then?”

Ambrose smiled somewhat shyly and bit his lip as he twisted a little at the waist and shook his head.

“All right,” Wyatt said after a brief pause as they started down the hall once more. “Where would you like to eat?”

Ambrose
cleared his throat again as they approached his rooms and stopped in
front of the door before turning to Wyatt. “Here,” he murmured but
blocked the door, not moving. “I – I would ask you in but…”